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RKSOT^ROFS 



NORTH CAROLINA. 



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Tlie TTnifed States Commissioner of Immigration having re- 
cently addressed a letter to Gov. Worth as to the resources and 
rapahilities of the State, the Governor prepared and transmitted 
the information contained in ^le subjoined communication. 

Its publication has been immediately induced by a letter from 
the President of the American Emigrant and Homestead Com- 
pany, New York, which will be found below, and which explains 
itself: 



American Emigrant Aid and Homestead Company, ) 
62 Broad and 2 Nen- Street, ' ' 
New York, June ftth, ]SPS S 
To His ExcelleHcii, ih-e Gorernnr of Xorth Carolinn : 

Sir :_Reports have been received by this Company from 
Europe, that efforts are made there to dissuade the Europeans 
from immigrating and settling in the Southern States, by circu- 
lating statements that the European settlers in the Southern 
States are treated inhumanely ; which can be refuted successful- 
ly only, by referring the Europeans to the statutory laws of the 
respective Southern States, relating to the mode of acquiring 
property, and to the civil and political rights and privileges 



r. 



si- 



'I RESOURCES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

secured to the new settlers or foreigners locating therein. To 
enable the Company to do this task effectively, you are most 
respectfully requested to furnish it with copies of such laws of 
your State, or to refer it to such other authentic collections 
thereof, as are actually in existence and in force in your State. 

A statistical information of your State resources, of the cli- 
mate, of its various localities, and of agricultural adaptedness of 
soil, would be very desirable also, for the misrepresentations re- 
ferred to, extend even to these objects. 

As the object of the request is to obtain from you a weapon to 
enable this Company to defend the interests of your State and of 
its landholders, it is expected that this liberty will be excused. 

Herewith you will be pleased to find our charter organization, 
and a newspaper containing the expression of our determination 
to aid the South in obtaining immigrants. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very Respectfully, Your Excellency's Obd t Servant, 

P. C. WRIGHT, Tremlent. 



STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, j 
ExKcuTivE Department, '- 

Rm.kigh, June 13th, 1866. S 
P. C. WRIGHT, Esq., 

Presi/lent American Umigrant Airland Honieu'ead (Jnmpmu/ : 
Sir : — In response to your letter of the 8th inst. , 1 write you 
substantially the same facts contained in a letter, of this date, to 
the United States Commissioner of Immigration at Washington. 
Geographically, North Carolina is situated half way between 
New York and the Gulf of Mexico, being included between the 
parallels of 34i degrees and 364 degrees. It extends from the 
Atlantic coast five hundred miles westward stretching more than 
one hundred miles beyond the Blue Ridge mountains, and con- 
tains an area of 50,000 square miles, having therefore the same 
extent as the State of New York. This territory divides itself 
naturally into three well marked sections : On the West, the 
mountainous plateaii, having an elevation of "3,500 feet above the 



VJ) 



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RESOITRCES OF NORTH OAROIJXA. 8 

sea, and being traversed by several chains of mountains, many 
of whose peaks attain an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet. On the 
East lies a low plain, nearly level, partly alluvial and partly 
sandy, extending about 150 miles froni the coast ; and between 
these two spreads the hill country, whose elevation rises gradu- 
ally from 200 or 300 feet, on the eost, to 1200 feet at the base of 
the mountains. 

The eastern section is mostly covered with pines (Pinus ntts- 
tralift and P. taeda), the middle and western with vast forests of 
oaks (of many species) interspersed with the poplar, hickory, 
walnut, maple, &.c. Seven large rivers, with their numerous 
tributaries, traver&e the State, furnishing imlimited water power 
as they flow down from the mountains through the middle sec- 
tion ; and as they move with a moderate current, across the 
champagne country, on the east, into the chain of sounds v/hich 
skirt the coast, they furnish, with these, an aggregate of 900 
miles of inland navigation, which might be doubled by carrying 
westward the system of slack water improvements already com- 
menced. With these navigable waters is interlaced the railroad 
system of the State, amounting to 998 miles completed, and 400 
more in progress, which, with about 350 miles of plankroads and 
turnpikes, brings the sea coast into ready communication with 
every part of the Stale. 

THR soil,. 

is very various ; alluvial and peaty accumulations abound near 
the coast and along the rivers, while in tlie middle and western 
regions the soil is mainly of granitic origin, and represents eve- 
ry grade of sandy or clayey loam of various fertility. 

THE Ci.lMATE. 

has also a wide range, being tempered on the seaboard to some- 
thing like the mildness of that of the Gulf States, while in the 
mountain region it approaches the rigor of New York. In the 
middle section, which constitutes the larger part of the State, 
and represents the average climate, the mean annual tempera- 
ture is GO degrees (Fahrenheit) — the mean summer temperature 



4 RP^SOrRCES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

75 (leg., mean Winter 43 (ieg., extreme Summer (diurnal) 89 
degrees, average absolute minimum 99 degrees, extreme Winter 
(diurnal) 20 degrees, average absolute minimum 12 degrees The 
annual fall of rain is 4o inches. The number of eloiuly dajs in 
the year is 130 ; rainy days, 60 

THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. 

are numerous. The most important are vv^heat, corn, oats, 
rye, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, rice, cotton, tobacco, tur- 
pentine, grapes and fruits. Wheat and corn are produced with 
facility and abundance in all parts ; rye, oats and potatoes flour- ■ 
ish in the middle and western regions ; rice, sweet potatoes and | 
peas in the eastern ; tobacco in the middle ; cotton in the south- i 
ern couniies of the middle, and in the eastern section ; turpen- 
tine and pine lumber are peculiar to the East. The fruits most 
extensively and largely cultivated are the apple, peach, pear 
and cherry, represented by numerous varieties. No part of the 
continent is better adapted to these than the middle and western 
regions. The principal grasses are the orchard, herd's, timothy 
and blue, to which must be added clover and lucerne. All these 
flourish in the middle and western regions, and some of them 
grow wild ; hence, stock raising is easy and profitable. The 
stock chiefly raised are horses, mules, cows, sheep and hogs. 
The grapes usually cultivated, besides foreign varieties, are the 
Sciippernong, Catawba, Lincoln and Isabella, all natives of the 
State, the first three being excellent wine grapes. The Scup- 
pernong is peculiar to the eastern section. The following ab- 
stract from the United States Census report, for 1860, will best 
show the productions and capabilities of the State : 

Live Stock, - - 3, .326,000, annual product. 

Wheat, - - 4,700,000 bush, annual product. 

Corn, - - - 30,000,000 " 

Oats, - - - 2,800,000 " 

Rye, - - - 437,000 " 

Peas, - - - 1,900,000 " 

Potatoes, - 830,000 " 

Sweet Potatoes, - 6,140.000 " 



^S^ 



RESOURCES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



Cotton, 

Tobacco, 

Rice, 

Wool, 

Honey, - 

Turpentine, 



58,000,000 bushels, per annum. 
32,900,000 pounds 

7,600,000 " 
883,000 " 

2,055,000 " 

1,000,000 bbls 



THE MANUFACTURES 
are chiefly cotton, wool, spirits of turpentine, lumber, ii-on 
and paper. 

The amount invested in the manufacture of cotton is !j^2,250,- 
000; lumber, $1,000,000; turpentine, $2,000,000: iron, $500,000; 
wool, $350,000. 

FISHERIES 
abound in the sounds and rivers of the eastern counties. The 
species of fish mostly taken are the herring, shad, blue fish, 
mullet and rock. The number of barrels annually packed for 
market is about 100,000 on the waters of Albemarle Sound.— 
Considerable quantities are packed at other points. 

MINERALS. 

The most important of these are coal, iron, gold, copper, 
silver, lead, plumbago, limestone, marble, agolmatolite, soap- 
stone, manganese, whetstones, grindstones, roofing-slates, por- 
celain clay and fire clay. The coal is bituminous, and exists 
in two beds, situated respectively one hundred and two hun- 
dred miles from the coast, on Cape Fear River and on Dan 
River. It is abundant, accessible, and of good quality. Iron ore 
of excellent quality, abounds in all parts of the State ; 
the principal seat of its manufacture being on the Cape 
Fear, Catawba and Yadkin rivers. Gold is found in almost all 
parts of the State, especially in the middle region ; the annual 
product, for many years, has been $250,000. Copper mines 
abound in the middle, northern and western counties. Plum- 
bago is found in great abundance near the capital, and again 
in the western region ; marble in the middle and western : and 
marl everywhere in the eastern section. 



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b RESOITRCRS OF XOrJTH CAROLINA. 

A chain of silver abd lead mines (containing goM also.) travei-ses 
the central ])ortion of the State. 

thy: population 

in 1860 was 1)92, 62:>, of which one third are colored. 3,298 are of 
foreign birth. One-tenth of the population live in towns and cities. 

LAND. 

According to the census of 1860, there were 6,500,000 acres of 
improved land, being about one fifth of the area of the State. The 
price at which these lands are held ranges from about 3 dollars to 
100 dollars per acre; the average would be about 11. 

The only qualification necessary to enable a f<:>reig!ier to own 
land, is that he take the oath of allegiance to tlie State, or have 
become a citizen of the United States. 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Avere maintained in the State, by the means of the income derived 
from the Literary Fund, which amounted to two million 
five hundred thousand dollars in 1860. About half of this fund 
has been swept away by the war; and the system of District schools 
which had brought a rudimentary education within the reach of all, 
free of cost, has been entirely prostrated for the present, but will 
doubtless be revived in a few years. 

The State may be reached directly from Euroi)e through any of 
her ports, — Wilmington, Beaufort or Norfolk, from which railroads 
penetrate every part of the State. From New York the distance by 
railroad or steamer is about 20 hours. The munber of newspapers 
published in the State is about 70 ; all in the English language. 

The above statistics have been prepared, \\\t]\ much care, by the 
State Geologist, Prof W C. Kerr, whose information and research 
will vouch for their entire reliabilbity. 

You state that " reports have been received by your Company 
from Europe, that efforts are made there to dissuade the Europe- 
ans from immmigrating and settling in the Southern States, by cir- 
culating statements that the European settlers in the Southern 
States are treated inhumanely," &c. 



eov- 



RE80URCES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 7 

Nothing could be more unfounded than such a report, so far as 
th=s State is concerned. Citizens of foreign birth have the same 
protection of person and property under the laws of North Caro- 
Hna as her native citizens — and where the}- are as industrious and 
honest, they are as thrifty and as highly esteemed — many such oc- 
cupying positions the most honorable and influential. To foreign 
settlers, of honest, energetic character, the State extends a cordial 
welcome; and I can assure you. when such come, instead of be- 
ing "treated inhumanely/' they will be offered the rights and priv- 
ileges, and the same support and countenance, enjoyed by our na- 
tive citizens. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

JONATHAN WORTH, 

Governor of N. C. 



